Peter Woo

{{family name hatnote|1=Woo (吳)|2=Peter Woo|3=Woo Kwong-ching|lang=Hong Kong}}

{{Infobox person

| image =

| honorific_prefix = The Honourable

| name = Peter Woo

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=HKG|GBM|GBS|JP}}

| caption =

| birth_name = Woo Kwong-ching

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|9|5}}

| birth_place = Shanghai, China

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality =

| education = University of Cincinnati
Columbia Business School

| occupation = Former chairman of Wheelock and Company and The Wharf (Holdings)

| spouse = Bessie Pao Pui-yung

| children = 3 (including Douglas Woo)

| parents =

| relatives = Yue-kong Pao (father-in-law)

| website =

| module = {{Infobox Chinese |child=yes |t=吳光正 |s=吴光正 |p=Wú Guāngzhèng |w=Wu Kuang-cheng}}

}}

Peter Woo Kwong-ching, GBM, GBS, JP ({{zh|t=吳光正}}; born September 5, 1946) is a Hong Kong billionaire businessman. He was the chairman of Wheelock and Company and The Wharf (Holdings) until 19 May 2015. As of April 2021, his net worth is estimated to be $14 billion.{{Cite web|title=Peter Woo|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/peter-woo/|access-date=2020-10-08|website=Forbes|language=en}}

Education

Woo was born in Shanghai in 1946 with ancestral roots in Ningbo, Zhejiang,{{cite web |url=http://www.wcgcci.com/en/wyfcDetail.asp?id=85 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205125915/http://www.wcgcci.com/en/wyfcDetail.asp?id=85 |archive-date=5 December 2019 |title=Peter Woo/World China General Chamber of Commerce and Industry}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/24/world/no-headline-171091.html|title=No Headline|first=Frank J.|last=Prial|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 September 1991}} and moved to Hong Kong in 1949.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cusef.org.hk/en/who-we-are/our-leadership/mr-peter-woo|title=Mr. Peter Woo|website=China-United States Exchange Foundation}} He was educated at St Stephen's College, a Direct Subsidy Scheme privately owned but government-funded boarding school (which is also Hong Kong's largest secondary school), in the town of Stanley, and went on to attain his bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati, majoring in physics.{{Cite web |title=The Cincinnatian [1970, pt.02] |url=https://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll3/id/57713/rec/2 |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=digital.cincinnatilibrary.org |language=en}} While a student, Woo was senior class president,{{Cite web |title=The Cincinnatian [1970, pt.02] |url=https://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll3/id/57728/rec/2 |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=digital.cincinnatilibrary.org |language=en}} and became a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, an endeavor he is still involved in today. He later obtained an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York, US.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

Life and career

After graduating, Woo worked at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York and Hong Kong, where he met his future wife Bessie. Bessie was the sister of the woman he was arranged to be married to. His family did not approve of a non-Asian marriage.{{Cite web|title=Peter Woo|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/peter-woo/|access-date=2020-11-23|website=Forbes|language=en}}

Woo's diversified interests are reflected in his businesses, focusing in real estate development in Hong Kong, China and Singapore.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} The group owns several investment properties such as Harbour City and Times Square in Hong Kong, as well as operating other businesses such as i-Cable Communications, Modern Terminals and Marco Polo Hotels.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} Woo also owns the privately held, high-end luxury retail group LCJG, which includes Lane Crawford and the premier fashion house, Joyce.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} Woo also serves on the advisory board for various Fortune 500 companies such as Chase Manhattan Bank, JPMorgan Chase and General Electric.{{Cite web|title=Mr. Peter WOO|url=https://www.ourhkfoundation.org.hk/en/node/775|access-date=2021-04-25|website=團結香港基金 OUR HONG KONG FOUNDATION|language=en}}

Political and non-profit

Woo is a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

His past appointments include:

Chairman of the Council of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University from 1993 to 1997.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}
Founding chairman of the Hong Kong Environment and Conservation Fund Committee in 1994 until 2004.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}
Chairman of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority from 1995 to 2000.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}
Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council from 2000 to 2007.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

In 1996, Woo ran in the First Hong Kong Chief Executive Election just before the British colony was handed over back to Chinese rule, alongside Yang Ti-liang and Tung Chee-hwa. Tung won.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

Achievements and honours

The Government of Hong Kong appointed Woo Justice of the Peace in 1993, awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star in 1998 and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2012.Honours List, [http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201206/30/P201206290815.htm], 30 June 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2015.

References

External links

[http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200209/25/0925094.htm Peter Woo]
[http://www.wheelockcompany.com Wheelock]
Hong Kong Portraits of Power - Evelyn Huang and Lawrence Jeffrey, Little Brown 1995, p 102
[https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a3mkJLePzIag&refer=us Forbes List]

{{s-ttl|title = Chairman of the Hospital Authority |years = 1995–2000}}

{{s-ttl|title = Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council |years = 2000–2007}}

{{s-bef|before = Wong Yan-lung
Recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal}}

{{s-ttl|title = Hong Kong order of precedence
Recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal}}

{{s-aft|after = Anthony Mason
Recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal}}

Category:1946 births

Category:Living people

Category:Businesspeople from Shanghai

Category:Columbia Business School alumni

Category:Hong Kong billionaires

Category:Hong Kong chief executives

Category:Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference